Savour Winnipeg

Hey, thanks for visiting.

I’ve had the SavourWinnipeg.com address associated with the WordPress site since it all began in November 2008.

Response has been incredible and to keep things fresh, I’m now hosting SavourWinnipeg.com as an independent website (still as SavourWinnipeg.com).

Keep up to date on the latest food finds in Winnipeg–update your bookmarks, Google Reader, and what have you–and if you’re new to Savour Winnipeg, awesome! Swing on over to SavourWinnipeg.com for the latest posts.

Mushroom picking in Manitoba–a funghi good time

David Punter, retired professor of Botany at the University of Manitoba, prepares to lead the Manitoba Naturalists Society on a field excursion.

I’d almost forgotten when the call came.

We’ll be meeting at the Southdale Mall McDonald’s at 1:00pm.

It occurred to me I wouldn’t know how to identify them, but they were an unmistakable group.

The telltale clipboards, cargo pants and wide-brimmed hats told me I’d found my people.

The Manitoba Naturalists Society’s mushroom picking campaign was about to roll out.

I had only a vague idea of where we were going (the fungherati closely guard the location of their caches). Nevertheless I piled into a car with three strangers.

Leading the procession, David Punter, retired Professor of Botany of the University of Manitoba.

The blue hue of this Lactarius comes from the secretion of latex.

Diversity on the menu at University of Winnipeg

Students returning to class at the University of Winnipeg this week will have even more food for thought.

Replacing the long bemoaned Chartwells as campus food service provider, Diversity Food Services will feature affordable flavours from around the world on three locations including the main cafeteria in Riddell Hall, and a coffee shop and small restaurant on the university’s upper floors.

Diversity will also provide three squares a day for the  170+ residents occupying McFeetors Hall—the university’s new student and community residence.

Leading the venture as Executive Chef, Ben Kramer, formerly of Dandelion Eatery, developed Diversity’s menu with a focus on nutritious, affordable and ethnically diverse food with a preference for sourcing local, organic ingredients and a commitment to fair-trade practices.

Kristen Godbout, former general manager of award-winning Bread & Circuses, is managing the operational side.

Not only will the cafe fuel the bodies and minds of University of Winnipeg students, it’s fueling local economic development too. The entire operation is structured as a social purpose enterprise, a revenue-generating venture that’s owned and operated by a non-profit organization and provides training and employment for individuals living in low-income situations and traditionally marginalized populations. As such it is joint venture of the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation, and SEED Winnipeg. Manitoba Labour and Immigration, Employment Manitoba and the United Way of Winnipeg are funding the training program.

Diversity will debut with a  staff of 25 hailing from all over the world including Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Ethiopia, First Nations, Moldavia, Nigeria, Philippines and Sudan.

I was invited to a sneak peak a couple of weeks ago, a practice run for the staff to experience a full blown service and work out any kinks.

As a U of W alum I was impressed, and a little jealous, at the selection and quality students will now have.

A cold station offers fresh wraps, while the hot station finally uses the flat top grill to serve super-healthy, and wordly entrees like huevos-rancheros instead of the fried cardboard and greasy spoon slop that used to disgrace its surface.

At the end of the line, in a formerly underutilized space, there’s a juice/smoothie bar where a couple of baristas will become intimate friends with a pair of commercial grade blenders that will no doubt be challenged to keep pace with demand.

The icing on the cake, the disposable cutlery and serving vessels are made from recyclable materials and boast the distinction of being completely compostable (and compostable waste bins are already installed).

Flatlanders Beer Festival

Get this…belly up to an unparalleled selection of beers from around the world, drink your fill, and the whole time you’re doing Manitoba kids (if not your liver) a huge favour. In short, that’s what the Flatlander’s Beer Festival is all about.

Running September 16 – 18, Flatlander’s has been putting the fun in fundraising for seven years now.  All proceeds go to the Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation, a non-profit organization which raises money and provides grants to registered children’s charities in Manitoba.

On September 15, set your sights on a perfect primer at Luxalune. It’s 20 bucks for 20 samples of their extensive selection of suds. Then, on September 16, there’s the beer dinner, a $125 formal affair at Bergmann’s Deli on Lombard.

Finally, on September 17 & 18, from 7-10 pm, the Winnipeg Convention Centre plays host to public tastings of over 100 of the finest beers from around the world. Tickets are $29.95 and besides entry, get you 5 samples. Of course you can buy five additional samples at $4 a pop. And five more for another four…and five more….and five more…and oh jeez, call me a cab I gotta work in morning.

Drink a little, drink a lot, it’s bound to be good times and it’s all for a great cause so get your tickets now. Check out http://mtscentre.ca/flatlandersbeerfest/ for more information or click below for an alphabetical list of the brews you’ll be browsing.

International Bacon Day

Okay, it’s a pretty unofficial celebration, but no other food is as deserving.  September 5 is International Bacon Day.

Bacon Day is held on the Saturday before Labor Day US (the first Monday of September, and according to http://internationalbaconday.blogspot.com last year was celebrated in the US, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, and the UK.

Is that why Much More Music had Footloose on today (Kevin Bacon)?

One of the most fitting tributes to this porcine celebration is the bit on bacon (bacon bit?) by comedian Jim Gaffigan. Check it out (the bacon part’s at about 1 min 20).

Foodies not forgotten in fall leisure guide

The Winnipeg Leisure Guide hit stands August 12.

Available direct to Winnipeg Free Press subscribers, and through arenas, civic pools, libraries, leisure centres, and 200 local retailers, it lines up hundreds of activities to keep Peggers busy through the fall.

Given that two of my favourite leisure activities are cooking and eating, I’m always thrilled to see what’s available in the cooking section which has been expanding year after year. It’s buried in the adult leisure segment, but I’ve extracted the food pages and posted the image below.

At the the very back of the guide there’s also a special foodie interest lineup (although they’ve titled it “foody”) at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory.  According to the guide: “The foody series incorporates delectable food samplings prepared by local chefs sprinkled with historical and horticultural tidbits, topped off with expert pairings from the Manitoba Liquor Marts.”

I’ve posted the excerpt for this section too, but PDFs of all the Leisure Guide sections are available at http://www.winnipeg.ca/cms/recreation/leisureguide.stm

Casa Burrito–a home away from home for Winnipeg’s burrito boys

When I was completing my university degree I had a hard enough time working three shifts a week at Angus Reid and still finding time for study and family.

I couldn’t believe that Vinay Iyer wanted to open and run his own restaurant while pursuing a computer science degree (his second) at the University of Winnipeg. But that’s when Sarpino’s Pizza vacated some prime real estate directly across from the U of W.

The 23 year-old student wasted no time approaching building owner Hart Mallin about opening a taqueria in the space. Mallin couldn’t believe it either. And neither did the banks that Iyer approached, refusing to finance him and business partner and friend Samuel Engelking.

And it’s not suprising. The pair knew practically nothing about restaurants beyond the dozens of websites (largely food and hospitality) they’d developed while living in Toronto.

But it was from that background, and a hog-town tex-mex hangout called Burrito Boyz, that they’d become inspired and convinced that a taqueria would fly in Winnipeg. Their commitment and vision was their only asset.

It was enough to win the support (both moral and financial) of Iyer’s family back in India. Unbelievably, it also won Mallin who turned down a sound offer from a Pizza Pizza franchisee in favour of the boys.

That was May 2008. Casa Burrito opened that October and has since developed a small, but fiercely loyal clientele.

There’s about ten customers who come in here every day, says Iyer. And one or two from the neighbourhood eat lunch and dinner here daily.

When you taste these burritos, you’ll see why.

New cafe embraces organic in al fresco setting

The St. Norbert Farmers’ Market officially opened on June 6.

I’d almost laugh if it wasn’t so worth it, but thousands of Winnipeggers eagerly await this moment and every weekend, pile into our vehicles, stomping out a massive carbon footprint as we flock to the southern-most tip of the city to scoop up pounds of fresh, organic produce (hey, guilty as charged).

And while there’s also the Osborne Village Farmers Market for the more urban inclined (opening July 2), St. Norbert’s scope and scale makes it one of the must-stop destinations in Winnipeg’s all too seasonal culinary calendar.

If you’re heading down there this weekend, you might be interested in bypassing the hot-dog carts and swinging round the corner to the St. Norbert Arts Centre for lunch.

Corydon Avenue gone to the dogs

Dingo’s Wild & Crazy Dogs just opened up on Winnipeg’s Corydon Avenue. Occupying the former Sugar Mountain digs, the latest WOW! Hospitality concept serves up stylin dogs with clever toppings that’ll have you begging for seconds.

Go ahead, make my day

I’d been meaning to make another batch of burgers and suddenly it hit me. I didn’t have to settle for the pre-packaged ground mystery meat to make those burgers tonight because I was the proud owner of a food processor. I could chop, mince, shred, grate and blend whatever I wanted.

In this case, I hoped to strike a textural balance with a tasty, fatty meat, mostly minced, with some nice juicy chunks throughout. So I swung by a mega mart (it was close and I was biking) to see what I could find. I’d seen burger recipes that called for ground chuck. So that, I thought, was a good starting point.

There was an impressive selection of cuts, but no chuck. Knowing only that fat is a friend of great burgers, there were several apparently viable options. But I didn’t want to end up with something tough as shoe leather that lent itself more to braising than barbeque.

When in doubt, ask about. As luck would have it, a fellow in a white smock with a clipboard was counting inventory.

You must be an American, he said.

Do south: Burrito del Rio kicks ass

The response to my sneak peak of Burrito del Rio tells me one thing…Winnipeggers love Mexican food, or any spin on it they can get their gums on.

So it was a stroke of genius for Duncan Grant, owner of Bonfire Bistro and the Latin influenced Cafe Carlo, to bring the taqueria concept to a tiny strip mall in Winnipeg’s Osborne Village.

(He does give props to Casa Burrito, which barely beat him to the punch, opening across from the University of Winnipeg last October).

Grant had seen similar concepts in other cities, he says, and there was a gap in the Winnipeg market that he thought he could fill. And fill the market he does, with beautifully toasted burritos bursting at the seams with top notch fillings.

Winnipeg’s own Iron Chef

Winnipeg's own Iron Chef competition winners received their trophy from Restaurant Makeover star David Adjey

There was very little fanfare, but Winnipeg played host to its own Iron Chef competition.

Taking place at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, the competition was part of Centrex, Manitoba’s largest tradeshow for hotels, restaurants, bars, and foodservice providers.

The competition featured eight teams from local restaurants: Provence Bistro, Bistro 725, The Fairmont, Dandelion Eatery, The Winnipeg Squash Raquet Club, Bellissimo, The Assiniboia Downs Restaurant and Mirlycourtois.

More Mexican: Burrito del Rio opening soon

Bringing us more flavours of our southern neighbours, Winnipeg’s first taqueria, Burrito del Rio, is poised to open in Osborne Village.

Oil barely cool in the fryers since the departure of former occupant the Village Fish, the space has undergone a rapid transformation.  The only vestiges of the chippy shop the indoor eaves working to greater effect now to suggest an outdoor dining experience.

The tiling at the counter (note the geckos) is a striking feature, no matter how 1970s kitchen it feels.  Fake shuttered windows line the walls, painted in vibrant orange and blue reminiscent of a mid-80s  Chi Chi’s.

If I were dining in a courtyard, however, and the windows faced inside as the roof line feature suggests, why would I be seeing one of the Three Amigos riding by on a horse?

All in all it’s a very casual atmosphere and if I were to hazard a guess, it’ll cater largely to a lunch clientele.

No firm opening date indicated, but wouldn’t it be cool if it was Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).  Taking bets.

So long, and thanks for all the fish

With great trepidation I watched brown paper mask the windows of Winnipeg’s gourmet fish n chippie, The Village Fish.

I held out hopes that it was merely a long overdue reno. But there’s no denying a new sign, proclaiming Burrito del Rio’s imminent opening. The Fish has floated on, down the drain, belly up (insert another suitable nautical cliche here).

There being no detectable currents on the tides of this change, the surreal and sudden departure of this Osborne Village jewel has me reciting lines of the Fishy segment from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.

All I can say is so long, and thanks for all the fish.  I will miss your Manitoba caught pickerel coated in a ridiculously light and crispy panko breadcrumb crust. Served with fresh baked bannock and a heaping helping of chips with malt vinegar, it was a decidedly Canadian spin on a great English tradition (with a tip of the ol bowler hat to Japan vis a vis the Panko bread crumbs).

Spoiled for traditional batter, I was forced to find a way to replicate the VF experience.  I humbly submit Savour Winnipeg’s tribute to it here.

Chopping Block gets axe

NBC ruthlessly axed Marco Pierre White's The Chopping Block after just 3 episodes

Marco Pierre White, the chef who made Gordon Ramsay cry, made his television debut in north America this March with The Chopping Block.

But after only three episodes, NBC cancelled the show due to poor ratings (only 4 million viewers for the premiere).

It’s too bad the American television giant didn’t foster a little growth in audience as, by all accounts, White is a treat to watch, a master technician who’s earned his props in every conceivable way in the food world.